


Since We've No Place To Go

by GoodIdeaAtTheTime



Series: Put It On The Calendar [1]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Christmas Jumpers, Christmas Romance, Cumbria, Friends to Lovers, Hashtag priorities, I should have been writing my assignments, M/M, but I did this instead, chrimble drinking, snowy snuggling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-23
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-09-11 10:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8976748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodIdeaAtTheTime/pseuds/GoodIdeaAtTheTime
Summary: Duo and Wufei get stuck in the Lake District after unexpected snowfall. Oh well, they can always make the best of it.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amberly](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amberly/gifts), [maevemauvaise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maevemauvaise/gifts).



“Uh oh,” said Duo. “I don’t like that face. What’d she say?”

Wufei slid back into the booth they had claimed in the taproom of the cozy pub, scowling at the table like it had made questionable insinuations about his mother. Outside, snow was thick against the window, and continuing to fall in blizzards of tiny, harried flakes. No-one in the bar looked like they were in any hurry to leave, but after two weeks camped in the nearby hills, intercepting communications from smugglers who’d been using the mountain shelters and cairnes as drop-points, Duo just wanted to get home and defrost.

Apparently that wasn’t going to be happening.

“All flights from the nearest airports are grounded, because of the snow,” Wufei informed him tightly. “Not that we could get there anyway, the snow gates have been closed on the main road out of here, and if that’s impassable then all the smaller ones certainly will be.”

“And they can’t arrange a direct extraction, because that’d give the game away.” Duo sighed, resting his chin on his fist. “Fine. So, how long are we stuck here?”

“The forecast is showing this is going to continue for at least a week. Maybe longer.”

“A _week_!” Duo hastily lowered his voice after the other customers shot him dirty looks. “That means we’ll miss Christmas!” he hissed.

“The fact hadn’t escaped my notice,” Wufei responded dryly, taking a sip of his now tepid coffee and grimacing.

“I’m not spending Christmas in a tent, in the snow,” the braided man said hotly, folding his arms as Wufei pushed his cup of coffee away from him and sat back in his own seat.

“You needn’t panic about that. We’re cleared to book accommodation for the duration, all expenses will be covered until we can be extracted.” He paused, then continued with some reluctance. “I actually booked us in here as soon as I got off the phone, but…”

Trailing off, Wufei didn’t look particularly inclined to finish the sentence, instead reaching out and straightening the salt and pepper shakers on the table, neatening the cutlery and napkins in the pot beside them. Duo just stared at him, eyebrows raised and waiting for what was coming.

“But…?” he prompted finally, impatiently, reaching out and smacking the other man’s hands away from the cruets. Wufei cleared his throat, took a strengthening breath, and then met Duo’s gaze.

“They only had the honeymoon cabin left.”

 

*

 

They burst through the door with some force and a blast of swirling snowflakes, kicking it shut behind them to seal out the bitter wind. Bags were unceremoniously dumped on the floor as they stood, dripping on the doormat and taking in their accommodation for the immediate future.

The cabin itself was nice enough, robust and well-decorated, it seemed to keep out the breezes. The main room was big, with large French doors on the wall opposite where they stood, showing views of the frozen lake and the snowy hills which surrounded it. There was even a small deck, with what looked like a hot tub, had they been feeling brave enough. The landlord had obviously sent someone up after they’d booked to light the wood burning stove, which was kicking out plenty of heat to make the room cozy and comfortable, even as they stripped off their waterproofs and thermals.

It was the furniture, really, where things fell down. Everything was designed for couples – a large, deep sofa, with blankets around for snuggling under; a dining table with a trio of red candles and two chairs angled towards each other; a thick plush rug on the floor in front of the stove. Even the kitchen was set up for pairs – and whilst two items of anything was all they would need, there was something about the way these items were arranged that made it clear it wasn’t just _two,_ it was a _couple_. Champagne flutes placed so close they gently kissed, with a bottle of complimentary bubbly chilling beside them on the counter greeted them as they peered in.

The bedroom was even worse. A large, well-blanketed sleigh bed took up most of the room, and the bedding had been covered in rose petals, along with two towels twisted into the shape of kissing swans. The ensuite bathroom had a huge walk-in shower, with room for two, as well as a giant bath that could comfortably fit more people than usually took a bath at any given time.

Side by side, they stood in the doorway to the bedroom and studied the sight with mixed feelings. After two weeks camping, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of winter, that bed looked like the most appealing thing on Earth or the Colonies at that precise second.

The rose petals were somewhat less welcome.

“I’ll take the sofa tonight,” Duo finally offered with a sigh, slumping against the doorframe. “But I’m definitely in the bed tomorrow.”

“I’m going to shower,” Wufei declared, dropping the bag of clean clothes by the foot of the bed – the dirty kit had been discarded by the tiny washer-dryer in the kitchen to be Tomorrow’s Problem. “And then I’m going to clear that nonsense off the bedsheets.”

“I’ll do it.” Duo waved him towards the bathroom and shuffled towards the bed. “I’m stealing some pillows too, though.”

Wufei grunted a response, as he tugged his sweater over his head and disappeared into the ensuite. Twenty minutes later he emerged feeling much more at will with the world, tension eased away by decent water pressure, and all the last vestiges of cold warmed out of him. He was also pleased to see the bed was now rose-petal free, the offending foliage stuffed in the waste paper basket by the dresser. Duo had apparently returned to grab his pillows and decided to test out the mattress as well, slumped as he was on his side, face in the bedding.

“I’d recommend a shower, you’ll feel much better for it,” Wufei told him conversationally, kneeling to dig through the bag for something clear to wear to bed. He settled on a t-shirt and boxers, slipping the underwear on beneath his towel before tugging the shirt over his head and then rigorously towelling his hair. “Duo?”

“Inna minnit,” Duo muttered, rolling his face further into the pillow. “Gimme… gimme a few more seconds.”

Wufei sighed, and stood, looked at his friend with fond exasperation. The other man was slumped, half-on, half-off the bed, face slack with fatigue and all but drooling onto his pillow.

“You sat down, didn’t you?” he asked, hands on hips. Duo grunted in response, not even bothering to open his eyes. “That was a rookie error.”

“Shuddup,” came the slurred response. “You’d’ve dunnit too. This bed is fuckin’ amazin’.”

“I suppose I will have to wait until tomorrow to find that out,” Wufei said wryly, bending down and scooping Duo’s feet onto the bed, “since you have reneged on your promise to sleep on the sofa.”

“Dun’ be stupid. This thing’s the size of –“ Duo paused, cut off by a huge, jaw-cracking yawn as Wufei undid his belt and tugged his jeans and socks off. “The size of fuckin’ _Luxembourg._ ‘S room for both of us.”

Wufei hesitated in the process of tugging the duvet and sheets out from beneath Duo, ready to tuck him in. Had he just said - ?

Apparently, even mostly-asleep Duo was familiar enough with Wufei’s thought processes to notice the pause, and glean the reason.

“Stop bein’ a prude an’ get in the stupid bed,” he ordered, tucking his feet under the covers and then wriggling across to make room for Wufei behind him. “’s jus’ sleepin’. An’ even if it weren’t, we’re off duty anyhow.”

“Is that an offer?” Wufei quipped, although he was more than a little tense at the thought, wondering if Duo had perhaps been picking up on things he’d been trying to keep hidden, and not sure how he would respond were that the case. But Duo didn’t answer, instead snuggling further down into his pillow.

Hesitantly, Wufei glanced towards the door, considering the sofa again, before slowly climbing into the bed and under the covers. Almost all regrets vanished the second his head hit the pillow. Duo hadn’t been kidding about how good this bed was.

“Holy shit,” he breathed, borrowing a favourite phrase of Duo’s, and getting a sleepy chuckle in response.

“Right?”

The pillows and mattress were just soft enough to be luxurious whilst being firm enough to actually support him. The sheets, rather than being impractical silk or satin for a honeymooning couple, were a soft brushed cotton, warm and gentle around him. And the duvet was thick, heavy and perfect for pulling around himself, like a thermal cloud waiting for him.

After two weeks sleeping on bedding mats on stony, cold hillsides, this was bliss. Had he been a more emotional sort, he might have cried. It was almost a religious experience.

He couldn't decide if it was made better or worse by Duo in the bed beside him. Somehow, despite the clear foot of space between them, this seemed far more intimate than when they had been huddled nearly on top of each other in sleeping bags only the night before. The door was still half-open, and the light from the stove in the other room was casting a gentle glow, soft and, he supposed, romantic - hence the honeymoon cabin. Of course, that absolutely _wasn’t_ what he should be focussing on, with Duo _right there_...

“If you dun’ stop _thinking_ , an’ go to damn sleep, Imma smother you with this pillow, an’ deal with the body tomorrow.”

Wufei jumped a little, and tensed up again. Duo sighed heavily and then, with much grunting and bouncing, rolled himself over and basically sprawled across Wufei, arm across his chest, legs across his legs, a warm weight pressed against his side.

“Now y’can stop worrying ‘bout accidentally bumpin’ into me in the night and go to sleep,” Duo declared, adjusting his head until he was comfortable. Wufei opened his mouth to argue but was shushed summarily, and after a while Duo’s breathing evened out and deepened, and Wufei knew he was asleep. The regular huffs of breath against his neck, the heat against him and the reassuring rhythm of the heartbeat pressed to his arm eventually lulled him to relaxation and, against all expectations, he drifted off.

 

*

 

It was hard to tell how long they slept, or what time it was when they woke. It wasn’t still snowing, but the sky was a steel grey and heavy with the promise of more flurries later. The first sensations to filter through to Wufei’s consciousness were _warm_ and _comfy_ and _nice._

Before his higher brain functions could fully remember why he felt just like that - curled as he was on his side, with Duo tucked up behind him, arm draped lazily across his stomach - his bedmate had rolled away, stretched and bounced out of the bed. He disappeared into the bathroom with a cheerful whistle. Wufei was left alone with his confusion and a cold back.

By the time Duo reappeared, Wufei had managed to get as far as sitting up and rubbing his eyes, uncharacteristically sluggish and a little embarrassed to have been caught snuggling, never mind who with. But despite more than half-expecting him to comment on it, Duo dressed quickly and disappeared with a vague promise to return soon. Wufei was given time to acquaint himself with his awkwardness at leisure, undisturbed.

Left with nothing better to do, Wufei showered, then started on the laundry and removing the more obviously romantic elements from around the cabin, stuffing them into the bottom of a cupboard in the kitchenette. He tried very hard not to think about the fact that after one night of platonic cuddling, Duo couldn't get away quickly enough. Very carefully did not consider how that justified his instincts not to tell Duo how he felt, how over the years Wufei had grown… very fond of him. Perhaps more fond than was appropriate for friends. Definitely more fond than was appropriate for friends. Not even in the vicinity of appropriate, really.

Three loads of laundry later - dried, folded and piled on the bags - there was still no sign of Duo. Slightly anxious and a little fidgety, he exhausted all the TV channels, restoked the wood burner, plugged in all their equipment to charge, checked the internet weather five times, and scoured the building for something better to do to occupy his mind.

He had just settled down with the least apparently awful of the books in the place, when the door slammed open, scaring the living bejeezus out of him. Duo tumbled through the door, accompanied by a tiny blizzard and numerous carrier bags.

“Honey,” he called through his scarf, fumbling the door shut behind him, “I'm home!”

Staggering into the kitchen whilst juggling the bags, he was barely visible under his hat - ear flaps firmly clipped under his chin - with his scarf over his face and his hood up. Wufei followed him, peering curiously over the breakfast bar at the abominable snow-Duo who was before him.

“What,” he demanded, “is all that?”

Duo didn't answer immediately, instead choosing to shuck his various wintery layers and throw them at Wufei to put away, grinning cheerfully from ear to ear. The Chinese man caught the items easily, shaking the excess snow off as he moved to hang them up.  By the time he returned to his position at the breakfast bar, his braided friend was unpacking his treasures - which mostly seemed to consist of alcohol, food and Christmas decorations.

“Duo…”

“I decided,” Duo declared, “that if we’ve gotta be stuck here for Christmas, then we're at least gonna have the best damn Christmas the two of us could have. Even though we’re stuck in Satan’s frozen asshole.”

He thrust a large bundle of tinsel at Wufei, and then pulled a miniature fibre optic tree out of one of the bags, starting to set it up on the counter.

“Where did you get all this?”

“Hitched a lift into town with Greg,” Duo said, as if it were obvious who Greg was, and that Duo should go into town with him, in a blizzard. “It's bleak out there though, even in his Land Rover it was slow goin’, had to stop and dig out a few times. That's for puttin’ around the place, by the way, not holdin’.”

“Er,” said Wufei, looking blankly at the tinsel. Duo sighed and took it off him.

“You're demoted from tinsel duty. On account of not bein’ industrious enough.”

“Hey!” Wufei bristled. “How did you even pay for this?”

“Expenses are covered until extraction,” came the blithe reply.

Wufei stared at the mountain of food and alcohol that was covering the kitchen sides.

“That's entirely _not_ what it’s meant for!” he spluttered.

Duo paused and turned to face his friend, leaning across the counter, gripping him firmly by the shoulders.

“Wufei,” he said earnestly. “Chang. I know you’re a man of principle, and honour, and I love you for it. But right now - Right. Now.” He shook him gently for emphasis. “I want you to take all your objections, scrunch them into a little ball, right, and then take that little ball, and chuck it in the 'fuck it' bucket.”

“Excuse me?”

“Chuck it,” Duo repeated, enunciating every word carefully, “in the 'fuck it’ bucket.”

He busied himself with unpacking again, finding increasingly creative ways to fit his haul into cupboards.

“Une’s going to have a fit,” Wufei warned him. Duo didn't look up from his task, but gestured to the window, through which it was clear the snow was falling heavily once more.

“Look yonder at the field where my fucks grow,” he declared, “and notice how it is a _frozen fucking wasteland_ , and therefore barren.”

“Duo…”

“No, don't 'Duo’ me!” Food stowing complete, the American whirled on Wufei, arms full of cut-price decorations that had had obviously picked up in the one supermarket in the town. “We're in this mess ‘cause of her - we should both be pulling up to _Chez Winner_ by now, to be wined and dined and spoiled by someone who is not only richer than _God_ , but for some reason as yet undiscovered by science, actually seems to _like_ us, and enjoy our company. It's not like he couldn't be friends with the whole Universe if he wanted - but no, it’s us he wants to see for Christmas, and dammit if it doesn't warm the cockles of my cold, dead heart every year seein’ his little face light up.” He barged out of the kitchen, pulling packaging off his decorations and beginning to hold them up for consideration before hanging them over various nooks and crannies. “Instead we’re stuck here, in a yeti’s nutsack, missin’ out on all our friends, just havin’ a starin’ contest with a blizzard until we can go home - by which point it’ll probably be late March, and we’ll have used up all our leave for the year waiting for Cumbria to leave the Ice Age!”

“We were on an operation,” Wufei argued.

“A non-urgent, _recon_ mission,” Duo retorted. “Which could _definitely_ have waited until after Christmas. When it wasn’t snowing.”

Folding his arms, Wufei watched as Duo draped tinsel across the window frames and hung stockings over door handles.

“I’m sorry that I’m not the company you expected over Christmas,” he snapped finally. “I’m fully aware that you had better plans, but-”

“Oh no,” Duo said, a warning tone in his voice. He turned to face Wufei with his hands on his hips, belligerence meeting belligerence head on. “Don’t you even start with that. I’m mad for _both_ of us, dipshit. I know you didn’t want to spend Christmas in Jack Frost’s colon any more than I did, and you _never_ take a break except for when we go to Q’s for this meet up. It’s the only time I see you relaxed! You’re stuck here, you can’t exercise like you like ‘cause there’s no room to swing a hamster; you’re missing the others too; and look, _look_ at the shit you’ve been reduced to reading!” He waved a hand at the book which had been discarded on the sofa.

Wufei glanced at it, and had to admit Duo had a point.

“ _You had me at Merlot,_ " he said, trying to repress a small smirk as he read the title. “Yes, well, perhaps you have a point.”

Relaxing, Duo grinned at him and moved closer, draping an arm around his shoulders.

“It’s one thing to go away for Christmas when you’ve planned it, but bein’ stuck here without any of our creature comforts ain’t on. So we’re gonna polish this turd best we can, and have the best Christmas possible on Une’s budget.”

“That’s an awful expression.”

“Your face is an awful expression.” Leaning more on Wufei and banging their hips together playfully, Duo surveyed the room. “What do you think?”

“It looks like Santa threw up in here,” Wufei told him. Tinsel was strewn across every window frame and over the doorways, cheap stockings and baubles were hung over every door handle. The little fibre optic Christmas tree on the counter was aggressively cycling through its colours, with plastic baubles clipped to it at obscene angles. Clearly Duo had bought one of each of any remaining Christmas decorations he could find two days before the holiday.

“It _does_ look like Santa threw up in here,” Duo agreed. He sounded proud and pleased with himself. “Mission accomplished. Right, step two for Perfect Christmas - eggnog!”

 

*

 

“That looks like far too much cream…”

“It’s what the recipe says, dude, and it’s the expert, not me.”

“Surely we can’t need _that_ much booze in it?”

“I mean…”

“It’s just going to be alcoholic meringue at this rate!”

“...You’re saying that like it’s a _bad_ thing.”

 

*

  
The recipe made far too much eggnog. Enough eggnog to sustain them through several blizzards, and certainly far more than they were capable of drinking in one sitting. After trying unsuccessfully to fit it into the tiny fridge, they wrapped a lot of cling film over the top of the bowl and then dug a little hole for it in the deep snow outside.

Duo cracked open a bottle of wine, and they managed to find a terrible movie on television to ignore whilst they got steadily more tipsy, instead sharing memories of their friends and missions that made them laugh.

Whilst they had been friends and partners for years, they had never spent time together like this - one-on-one, cut off from any distractions and relaxed. Even without the romantic accoutrements, there was still a feeling of closeness about the cabin, of connection, and it warmed Wufei, making him less tense and more bold. Perhaps some other qualms had been relegated to the 'fuck it’ bucket. There was certainly only just room for the pair of them in the cabin, any reservations wouldn’t fit alongside them.

By the time they got onto the second bottle, they relocated to the breakfast bar to eat cheese and crusty bread, and trying to remember the words to the school song from one of their undercover Alma Matas.

“ _Unto thee, oh Lord, do we~ee give thanks!_ ” Duo boomed laughingly, arms flung wide to portray the full gravitas of the lyrics.

“ _The lot has fallen unto me, in a fai~air ground,”_ Wufei responded.

“ _Yea, I have a goodly he~e~eritage,”_ they then chorused together, “ _a goo~oodly he-ri-tage!_ ”

Dissolving into snickers around mouthfuls of brie and baguette, the Chinese man smiled a little shyly at his friend.

“You were right,” he said. “This was a good idea. Thank you.”

Duo looked briefly startled, but then smiled back, warm and gentle, and it sent the most delightful feeling buzzing through Wufei from head to toe. The American held up his wine glass in a toast, waiting for Wufei to raise his and clink them together.

“Happy Christmas to us,” he declared, and Wufei echoed him, still smiling. “I think we’ve polished off this bottle,” he added, gesturing to the wine, “wanna go for a third and do a dramatic readin’ of _You had me at Merlot_? I’ll let you be Elle.”

Snorting into his wine glass, Wufei shook his head.

“It's a tempting offer, but perhaps not this evening. Maybe it's time for bed.”

“You're probably right,” Duo said a little ruefully. “After all, don't wanna use up all our fun in one evening.” He drained the last of his wine, and grinned as he set the glass on the side. “And I’ll _actually_ sleep on the sofa this time. Promise.”

Wufei hesitated.

“I…” he began, halting and embarrassed before bulling forwards. “It was alright last night. It is a huge bed, and it seems silly for you to be out here…”

Duo seemed to perk up slightly, studying him carefully.

“Yeah?” He said, and it almost sounded pleased and a little hopeful. “Y’don’t mind that I’m a cuddler?”

Wufei flushed slightly and finished his own wine before meeting Duo's gaze, the alcohol and intimacy of their location making him bold.

“Not at all,” he told him, and Duo's eyebrow quirked, his smile widening. Wufei mirrored him.

 

*

  
The next morning, Duo woke slowly, not wanting to lose the moment. He hadn’t expected Wufei to be so amenable to bed-sharing, which was part of why he’d originally volunteered to sleep on the sofa. That he had actively agreeing to cuddling had come as another shock, but it was certainly a pleasant one, and he wasn’t going to turn it down.

Perhaps this wasn’t going to be such a bad Christmas after all. He was working his way through his list to Santa, and he hadn’t even been a particularly good boy this year. And this, he thought, as he took a deep breath and savoured the scent of Wufei’s hair, this was much better than huddling together for warmth in sleeping bags in a tiny tent.

Sure, this wouldn’t last past the thaw and their return to reality, but for now he was definitely going to relish it. Would it make things worse when distance returned? Probably. Was that going to stop him? Not in the slightest.

Curled behind the shorter man, his arm across his side again, Duo felt the minute shifting in the muscles, the ever-so-slight increase in tension as Wufei began to rouse himself from sleep. He let out some nearly-silent little noises as he woke himself, rubbing his face slightly against the pillow until he was awake enough to blink his eyes open, looking muzzy and mildly confused.

Duo watched the process, fascinated and delighted. It was a wonderfully vulnerable new side of Wufei he had never seen, and it was priceless. When they had shared rooms before, or even tents, Wufei had always been all business - awake quickly, and immediately on the ball. He wondered whether the difference was that he now deemed the situation to be ‘off-duty’, and so he was more relaxed, his body catching up with rest it didn’t necessarily get on missions.

Or maybe, he thought wistfully, it was that he had someone to help him sleep better.

“Good mornin’,” he murmured, not moving, not wanting to break the moment. He felt Wufei tense slightly, before processing the situation and relaxing again.

“Morning,” Wufei replied, just as quietly. “What time is it?”

“Dunno.” Duo glanced over his shoulder, decided that his bedside table was too far away for him to get his phone, and that he didn’t care enough to move away from where he was. “No rush though, we’ve got nowhere to be.”

“No, I suppose not.”

He lay still for a moment longer, and Duo could tell he was mulling on something, so he wasn’t too surprised when Wufei leaned out of the bed to grab his phone from his own bedside table. He _was_ surprised when he immediately resumed his position under the covers, against Duo, to scroll through the information on the screen.

Taking advantage of the move to readjust, Duo pressed closer to his back. His arm moved more firmly around the other man’s waist and he pressed his chin against his shoulder, peering at the screen over it, his cheek again Wufei’s ear. The contact was glorious, and the fact that Wufei was accepting it so casually was almost beyond comprehension.

“What’s the word?”

“...The good news is that it’s not currently snowing,” Wufei said dryly. “In fact, apparently it’s going to be a beautiful day.”

Duo tried not to feel too disappointed at the prospect that they might be leaving the cabin soon - after all, he was still a little pissed about missing Christmas at Quatre’s.

“And the bad news?” he asked.

“It snowed another foot last night. Then it froze. Then it snowed again.” He snorted softly, and tossed his phone back onto the table, pulling the duvet back over his hands. “They can’t even get the ploughs up the roads, snow gates are still closed, and most other roads are now totally impassable by vehicle.”

“So… we’re not getting out of here any time soon?” Duo tried not to let his smile be heard in his voice.

“No,” Wufei confirmed, and maybe Duo imagined it but he almost sounded pleased too.

 

*

  
“Okay,” Duo said, “I’ll admit it. It is quite pretty here. And I’ll maybe allow that it’s probably an alright place to stay.”

“Magnanimous of you, I’m sure,” Wufei drawled, looking amused.

Given as the day was bright and crisp, they had decided to go for a walk, and explore the lakeside their cabin was on whilst it was clear enough to see. The snow crunched pleasingly underfoot, and the hills around them were white and clean against the clear blue sky. Snow was dusted on the frozen lake surface, giving the strange impression of a continuous blanket, undisturbed save for a few tiny bird footprints and reeds poking through the snow.

It was peaceful, quiet and almost isolated. Considering they weren't far from the pub, they were able to walk a fair way without meeting anyone. So when Duo decided to heave a snowball at the back of Wufei's head, there was no reason for either of them to hold back.

The battle that ensued was fairly brutal. Wufei's need for revenge and justice for himself as the innocent victim of unnecessary aggression met Duo's competitive streak head on. Whilst the American was better at sneak attacks, the Chinese man was faster, and in the end, tumbling out of the lightly wooded area at the edge of the lake and into fields, speed beat stealth.

Tackling Duo to the floor, Wufei managed to pin him down by sitting on his chest, arms trapped between his legs, and he ground a fistful of snow into the braided man’s face with a glorious shout of victory and laughter. Duo tried to beg for mercy but he was laughing too hard and ended up with a mouthful of snow.

“Uncle,” he managed to gasp finally, spluttering around the snowball, “Uncle! You win!”

“Say it,” Wufei hissed, trying to stuff more snow inside Duo’s hood. “ _Say it_!”

“Nataku was the best gundam!” Duo yelped, trying to wriggle away from the snow sliding down his collar. “It was great, and kick-ass, and anything I said about the practicality of a flamethrower in space was undeserved!”

“Damn right,” Wufei said with a smirk. He rocked back onto his heels, letting the pressure off his friend’s arms, so Duo could start digging what snow hadn’t already melted out of his shirt.

“What d’you do to get your thighs that strong?” he grumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position. “You could kill a man with them.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever tried that…”

As Duo sat upright, they both seemed to become aware that said thighs were still straddling Duo’s hips, and now he was sitting up they were near enough pressed together from top to toe. Faces flushed from cold and exercise, their steamed breath mingled in the slight space between their mouths, the exhales almost coaxing them to do what it already was, coiling and wrapping around each other teasingly.

“I… er…” said Duo, his eyes flicking to Wufei’s lips without his consent before he could wrench them back up to eye level. Wufei’s gaze followed suit as the American’s tongue darted out to clear a drip of ice water from his mouth, and seeing that the braided man’s breath hitched, slightly. Maybe he hadn’t been imagining it?

Before he could press further, the weight was gone from his lap and Wufei was standing, brushing off his knees and holding his hand out to help Duo stand.

“You’re soaked,” he said - and his voice seemed less than steady, which was somewhat reassuring. “We should go inside and…”

“...Warm up?”

Wow that phrase had suddenly become a million times more loaded than he’d intended, the sudden husky rasp of his voice hadn’t helped that. Duo cleared his throat and tried again.

“I mean, we could head up to the pub?” he suggested weakly. “They’ve got a fire and a pool table. Keep us occupied for a bit?”

Wufei almost looked relieved, and he fell into step beside Duo as they stumbled up the hill. Behind them, what had once been a scene of tranquility and undisturbed snowy perfection was now a sight of total devastation - snow turned and scuffed up the entire distance from the first snowball throw to the final victory point.

The end of the battle was commemorated by the outline of Duo’s body in the snow, and Wufei’s leg prints either side.

 

*

 

Greg, it transpired, was the landlord of the pub. He took one look at them as they trudged in, and confiscated their coats to dry over an airer near a powerful radiator. They set up through in the pool room, the fire crackling happily as they set about a contest that lasted the rest of the afternoon.

Setting up a tab with the company credit card, their drinks were continually renewed with little effort, and occasionally punters drifted in, paused to gawp at the shots they were pulling off - after Gundam Piloting, pool was rather small biscuits - and left them mostly in peace.

“Christmas lunch tomorrow’s at two, by the way,” Greg informed them, as he came to clear up the empties and present two new drinks.

“What?”

“I booked y’in fer it when you took the cabin,” the gruff older man explained, his thick burr buzzing around the words. “Figured y’wouldn’t want t’cook fer yourselves. Sommat like Christmas ain’t easy in those dinky kitchens.” He grinned toothily at the two of them. “Those cabins usually got people in who’re less concerned ‘bout cookin’ and more concerned ‘bout-”

“Thank you very much, that will be perfect,” Wufei said loudly, cutting him off and ignoring Duo’s grin. Greg left, whistling cheerfully to himself. “Should we maybe head back soon? I think we’re hogging the table.”

“Couple more rounds?” Duo suggested, as he racked up another game. “Get a few more drinks down us, protect against the cold.”

Wufei leaned on his cue and watched his friend consideringly, watched the braid, those jeans, that face, and his quick clever hands arranging the balls. He quirked an eyebrow at him and smirked lazily.

“Mr. Maxwell,” he drawled, “are you trying to get me drunk?”

Duo looked up at him, startled, and then matched his lazy smirk.

“Mr. Chang,” he replied, “I think I might be.”

 

*

  
It was dark by the time they walked back to the cabin. The clouds had cleared and in the lack of light pollution the stars seemed to be thousands more than they saw in the city.  Behind them, at the top of the hill, the pub’s Christmas lights twinkled cheerfully, looking warm and welcoming. Ahead of them, the cabin was almost invisible in the night, but there seemed to be a certain promise there that made them nervous, excited.

They walked in silence, a sudden shyness had descended as soon as they stepped over the threshold and back out into the cold, crisp night.Nerves almost got the better of them as the reached the cabin door, but then Duo disappeared around the side of the hut, waving Wufei inside.

“I’ve had an idea,” he called as he trotted off. “Gimme two minutes.”

Baffled, Wufei squinted into the shadows, before heading into the cabin. If Duo had changed his mind about whatever had been about to happen, he didn’t blame him, but he could have just said so. He stripped off his coat and pondered maybe just heading to bed, when the door burst open again and Duo appeared, looking very pleased with himself.

“What-?”

The braided man burst past him and disappeared into the kitchen, reappearing holding the bottle of champagne and flutes which had been set up for them on arrival. With his free hand, he hooked his fingers through Wufei’s and tugged him towards the large french doors.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s try out this hot tub.”

As they drew closer to the doors, Wufei could see that Duo had pulled the cover off the tub and hastily swept away some of the snow on the deck. Steam was already starting to rise off the water and it was bubbling away.

“I haven’t got a bathing suit,” Wufei said, whilst Duo started pulling off his own coat and layers.

“So? ‘Snot like we ain’t seen it all before. Unless you’ve got a surprise in your pants?”

Before the Chinese man could answer, Duo had disappeared to the bathroom and reappeared with some towels and without a few more of his clothes. Finally, he stepped out of his boxers, into his boots and grinned at Wufei, opening the french door.

“C’mon, might as well use it whilst we’ve got it.”

Wufei watched, stunned, as Duo dumped the towels just inside the door, grabbed the bottle of champagne and flutes, then shuffled out across the deck, laughing at the cold as he scrambled up and into the tub. There was a muted ‘pop’ as he uncorked the bottle, and then filled the two glasses, holding one out to Wufei with an expectant expression.

There was a second of hesitation, two, and then Wufei had shucked his clothes and was sinking into the blissfully warm water, taking the glass from a delighted-looking Duo.

“Happy Christmas, ‘Fei,” he said gently, holding his glass out. Wufei clinked his against it and smiled back at him.

“Happy Christmas, Duo.”

They settled back, side-by-side in the tub, facing the lake and the hills, the snow bright in the moonlight, glittering serenely. It was a strange sensation being naked in the tub, and it felt vulnerable in more ways than one. Despite the water between them, Wufei was very aware of the body beside his, and wondered if Duo realised how easy it would be to just reach out and…

“Ok, ‘Fei, since we’ve got no presents here, what’s your dream Christmas gift? If you could have _anything_ , what’d it be?”

Wufei peered thoughtfully through the steam and sipped at the champagne, enjoying the tingle on his tongue.

“When I was in town a couple of months ago, I stopped into that second-hand bookshop,” he said slowly. “I found this beautiful edition of Dante’s _Divine Comedy_. Two volumes, leather bound, illustrated and annotated…” He could picture it perfectly, remember the smell and the feel of the pages. “I didn’t buy it at the time, and when I came back the next week it had been sold. I’ve tried looking online, but I didn’t get a note of the edition.” He sighed, shrugged, glanced at Duo. “What about you?”

“...I dunno, man,” Duo mused. “I don’t really want anythin’, y’know? I’ve got what I need and it’s more’n I ever had. As long as I get to spend time with my friends, and they’re all happy and healthy, ‘s all I could want.”

“Yeah?”

Duo turned his head and suddenly their breath was mingling again, noses this close again. Duo’s gaze flicked once more to Wufei’s mouth, and he felt the excitement thrill through him, as it had earlier after their snowball fight.

“Well,” Duo breathed, “maybe _one_ other thing…”

Their lips brushed once, lightly, and then again, and then the champagne was forgotten as the kiss deepened. Duo’s mouth was so warm in contrast to the chill air, and he was so close. Wufei hadn’t imagined what it would be like, that seemed like a path to torture, but this - _this_ \- he couldn’t have imagined even if he’d tried. He wasn’t that creative.

When they parted, Duo leaned out of the tub to snag the bottle and top up their drinks, before settling himself down beside Wufei, closer this time, arms and legs brushing under the water.

“This might be one of my top Christmasses,” Duo sighed happily, clinking his drink against Wufei’s again.

“Even without being wined and dined at _Chez Winner_?” Wufei quoted.

“Hm, when you put it like that, maybe you’d better work a bit harder.”

Huffing out a breath, Wufei obliged, leaning in for another kiss.

 

*

 

Wufei awoke on Christmas morning to an empty bed, which he hadn’t expected.

The previous night they had dried off, dressed for bed and then assumed their positions without the pretence that they weren’t going to end up cuddling, and it had been blissful. He told himself that this wasn’t necessarily indicative of anything, and he could hear Duo puttering around the kitchen, but there was a part of him that did so love to assume the worst about everything. He hated that part.

Following the smell of bacon, he slid himself onto a stood at the breakfast bar and Duo grinned brightly at him, and slid the bacon out of the frying pan onto a plate at his elbow, snagging a couple of eggs.

“Mornin’ sunshine,” he said. “How’re you feelin’? Those bubbles fuckin’ did for me. I dunno what it is, but anythin’ else I can manage, but bubbles leave me feelin’ rough as hell. Wasn’t sure if you had the same thing, but I’m doin’ a Morning After breakfast for you anyway.”

“I could start taking it very personally that you keep leaving without waking me up,” Wufei said, propping his chin on his hand and watching Duo deftly crack the eggs into the pan, and scoot them away from the sausages still in there.

“Ah, heh, yeah. About last night…”

Wufei’s stomach went into a bit of a freefall. Oh, apparently it was going to be the Worst Case Scenario. Duo shot him a brief sideways glance and then turned his attention back to the eggs, being extremely diligent in making sure the whites didn’t mix.

“Look,” Duo continued finally, “I just wanted to say that, I dunno if last night was just a ‘last night’ thing for you? And if it was, that’s cool. But, um. If you want it to _not_ just be a ‘last night’ thing, I’d… I’d be pretty up for that too. Would prefer that, really. But, y’know.”

It took a moment to unpick the double negatives presented to him, but when his brain finally provided a helpful translation the relief was physical.

“I’d like it to not just be a ‘last night’ thing,” he said. “I’d like it to be an… ‘every night’ thing.”

The smile Duo gave him started hesitant, but then blossomed into something full and delighted and perfect. He managed to leave the eggs to their own devices and lean over the counter to gently kiss Wufei again.

“Well.” Duo couldn’t stop beaming as they separated. “Well. Happy Christmas. Your present’s on the sofa.”

“I thought you didn’t have any presents with you,” Wufei said with a frown, glancing to see the package on the couch. “I don’t have yours.”

“It’s not your real present,” Duo told him, returning to the eggs. “I just saw it and thought of you.”

Slipping down off the stool, Wufei padded over to the parcel and unwrapped it carefully, unsticking the tape and peeling it open. He looked at the contents, and then he laughed, and laughed.

“Should I be offended you saw this and thought of me?” he demanded, holding it up. Snickering, Duo brought the breakfasts over to the table and sat, looking pleased.

“Don’t you like it?”

“It’s hideous.”

“I _know_. Isn’t it _brilliant_? I got one too. Dare you to wear it to Q’s when we get out of here.”

Tossing the Christmas sweater aside, Wufei joined him at the table, shaking his head in disbelief, but still chuckling.

“I’ll wear it if you wear yours.”

“Deal. No take-backsies!”

 

*

 

By the 27th, the snow had thawed enough to be washed away by the famous Cumbrian rain.

They were almost regretful that they had to leave, but they were met in Brussels by two Maguanacs, who assured them that Master Quatre had postponed the Christmas celebrations until they arrived, and their presents and clothes had all been collected by another two Maguanacs to await them at _Chez Winner_.

Wufei briefly considered pointing out that perhaps sending people to break into his apartment wasn’t really an ideal act of a host, before realising that the argument would be fruitless. Duo shot him an amused look, clearly following his train of thought, and knocked their knees together in the back of the car. When Quatre got an idea into his head there was no such thing as ‘personal boundaries’ to stop him getting it done.

Deposited at the front door, Quatre flew down the steps to meet them, grabbing their bags and tugging them back into the house, telling them about everything they’d missed so far, and how glad he was that they had finally arrived. He only paused as they took their coats off.

“That’s a… nice sweater?” he said, finally, although it sounded like a question.

Wufei glanced down at his jumper, and smirked a little.

“It’s unusual isn’t it? Although Duo’s is fancier.”

Quatre glanced at the other man, whose Christmas knitwear came with the addition of a number of multicoloured flashing lights, which were blinking on and off cheerfully.

“...Yes,” Quatre agreed. “I can see that.”

“I think we’ll probably just go wash up before we come join everyone,” Wufei continued. “Usual rooms?”

“Yes - yes!” The blonde seemed to shake himself out of his surprise, and smiled happily at them. “I’m so glad you could both get here. It must have been awful being trapped like that.”

“It wasn’t too bad in the end,” Duo said, with a knowing grin and a glance at Wufei. “Certainly coulda been worse.”

They got up the stairs, and Duo tugged Wufei into his room, kissing him as the door swung closed. Wufei didn’t protest, pulling the other man against him and deepening it, into something slower, more tender. As they parted, Duo’s eyes stayed closed and he hummed happily for a moment, enjoying the contact, before he whizzed away and started rummaging through his bags.

“What are you doing?” Wufei demanded. “Quatre’s going to expect us downstairs in a few minutes, we could be spending this much more productively than looking for your socks.”

“No no no, waitaminnit would you?” Duo grunted, turfing clothes and packages everywhere before he emerged with the one he wanted. “I wanna give you your present now, instead of in front of the others.”

“It’s not another sweater, is it?” Wufei asked suspiciously, but Duo didn’t answer, instead watching as the paper stripped off the present to reveal the contents.

A boxed, leather-bound, two-volume edition of Dante’s _Divine Comedy_.

“Oh,” Wufei said, stunned. Then, added, for good measure, “ _O_ _h_.”

“Heh,” Duo said, “Yeah. I damn near wet myself when you told me about it the other night. I saw y’lookin’ at it when I came to meet you. Snuck back later and bought it up, ready. But, y’know, you gave me my dream Christmas present, so I’m pretty glad I could get you yours.”

Looking at the man in front of him, who was clearly very pleased and happy with himself, Wufei felt a throb of warmth and privilege, and couldn’t believe how lucky he was.

“You did better than that,” he said, tugging Duo close again. “You gave me a present I couldn’t even have dreamed of.”

“I am pretty great at presents,” Duo agreed, and leaned in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Whoops, my hand slipped.
> 
> This is based loosely on the Tranquil Otter Lake District cabins (which are beautiful), and on that one pub in the Yorkshire Dales that gets snowed in just about every year. Also that school song was my old school song and it was awful. AWFUL. Apparently it is just Psalm 75 set to music, but it was bad guys. But get any of us together and if one of us starts the others pitch in.
> 
> This is for Amberly and Maevemauvaise, who are both lovely and encouraging in 2x5 ridiculousness. Thank you so much both of you, I hope you enjoy it! It is unbetaed, and hastily done, but the intention is there!


End file.
